Reorganization and Leadership at Happy

Reorganization and Leadership at Happy Hotel

Imagine working for a hotel that appears unorganized and constantly undergoing constant restructuring. One would easily face frustration, especially when there is a lack of communication between management and employees. Could outsourcing and restructuring take place as Happy Hotel faces change? Is downsizing possible? What can one do to help make the organization run smoothly as well as maintain a high morale amongst its workers? By studying Happy Hotel, an individual will use Bolman and Deal to analyze each of the four frames, and to make suggestions on what needs done to improve the structure, culture and human resource policy.

Case Presentation

The Happy Hotel is considered a tourist hub in HappyValley. They are known for their winter sports. This organization began in 1890, and has at least 120 employees. What is interesting is that half of them are part-time, and this can easily cause communication issues, since they are opened at least three months out of the year. Most of the workers are in the food industry, such as restaurants. However, many do labor in service sector as a receptionist, housekeeping as well as booking. Many other departments exist including sales, maintenance and so forth. In regards to the structure, ten middle managers are used on a daily basis to get the work done in an efficient manner; consequently, this structure is not working well for the company. Miss Quick wanted to downsize the company and outsource everything; on the other hand, when Mr. New Way took her place, he saw much absenteeism, customer complaints, and daily tasks reduced. As a result, he hired consultants to solve this dilemma, and is seeking their advice in any way possible to help them succeed.

Discussion

In regards to the structural framework of Happy Hotel, one has to note that they are a machine bureaucracy. They have ten middle men that work in management receiving different messages on what needs done on a regular basis. Each of them is in charge of their own unit. Furthermore, this is a divisional structure because of the departmental aspect (Bolman & Deal, 2008). A hierarchy of labor is present, which indicates that each person has a specialized role. For example, a person who is in charge of a specific restaurant within the hotel will tell his or her employees on how he or she wants specific tasks done on a regular basis. The same applies to marketing, sales, housekeeping and so forth. They set up their own policies and procedures based off what the Director wants them to do.

Management appears to communicate well with each other through this particular structure. Since a select few are at this high of a position, many are able to discuss what needs done when meeting with each other. However, some structural imperatives are worth noting. Since the size of the company is 120, they need to consider the age of it as well (Bolman & Deal, 2008). Both of them work together to make everything work in a productive manner. Their current environment is unstable, which makes strategies and goals unclear to everyone who works for the organization. Most of the workers want autonomy, but when they are unsure of what is expected of them, this makes them feel uneasy, especially not knowing if they will have work the next day. Nothing is mentioned in regards to information technology. They appear to not have it at this time despite all of their successes from the past to the present. All of these are issues that need addressed through daily meetings with the employees and those in management in order to make positive change that could take at least two years to achieve. Much inconsistency is taking place, but when it is fixed, job satisfaction will rise.

Here are some suggestions in order to make Happy Hotel's structure better. They need to give every employee an email address and consider having a website in order to continue to bring in people from all over the globe to take part in the winter sports as a participant or spectator. Bolman and Deal (2008), note that an organization is to have the structural design to fit circumstance, and this includes goals, environment and so forth.

Since the organization has many employees, they need to consider having a larger Board of Directors. This will hold the Director accountable, and they can provide input in making the business run smooth. This allows for frequent meetings to take place among those in management as well as with their employees. Communication improves because people know what is expected of them. As a result, job satisfaction increases and individuals stay at their place of work longer.

One needs to consider having delegating tasks to the people who get paid by the hour. This will make the load lighter for those in management and keep the exceptional employees busy. However, a procedure needs arranged and written down in order to not overwhelm anyone who is offered the opportunity to excel in their skills and leadership. By having this in place, they prevent lawsuits from arising as well as have practical steps for each individual to follow precisely without breaking any rules. For example, they can have someone who oversteps boundaries lose privileges', or the opportunity to gain more with good and professional behavior.

Despite what all needs fixed, one has to consider that restructuring has detrimental effects on a firm. They can lose valuable hard working employees, and struggle to regain full productivity as a result of all the changes. The status quo is shaken for both management and employees (Tsi & Yen, 2008). Some do not survive it and end up claiming bankruptcy or no longer existing.

The next frame is with human resources. They appear to have an increase in absenteeism from sickness, which indicates that the workers are stressed out or getting in too much labor on a daily basis. 15% is a high number of individuals not on the job site on a regular basis, and is a total of 18 per day. One would see a number of gaps that need filled and this makes it difficult for the manager in this position to get it done well. Something is going wrong when it comes to how this is ran.

Bolman and Deal (2008) mention Maslow's needs. These consist of "psychological, safety, love, esteem and self-actualization" (Bolman & Deal, 2008). Many individuals who work for Happy Hotel are not getting their needs met. They possibly are not feeling as if they belong, so in turn their self-esteem falls which makes them call in sick. Human resources can have surveys, and observe the employees to find out what is going on and come up with ways to make the situation improve. This may mean having focus groups once a month or every quarter.

Theory X and Theory Y are important in finding a balance between task and direction. Many managers view their subordinates as lazy, but this is not always the case. For example, a person who sits at a desk all day is considered indolent if he or she is not answering the phone call or running errands. All it takes is asking questions to the individual to find out if they are waiting for someone or something. This does not degrade him or her with their self-esteem, but gives them a sense of empowerment knowing that they are valued in the company and community they serve. Dignity and respect is the key in keeping employees in an organization, and this means doing everything possible to encourage them to do their job well. HR would need to listen to the individual and seek to do everything possible to succeed. In the long run, everyone feels good, and they want to tell others, which makes them grow internally and externally.

Everyone in human resources team needs to develop a philosophy. This will allow them to stay focused on the purpose of their job. They need to adhere to the strategy of the organization, which is to meet the needs of tourists who are travelling in the area. Through having a plan, they are able to "hire the right people, reward well, provide job security, promote from within, train and educate and share the wealth" (Bolman & Deal, 2008).

When it comes to hiring the right people and rewarding those who comply with policies and procedures are needed. Happy Hotel can hire those who have the necessary education and experience. For example, if they have an Associates or Bachelor's degree with a specialty in tourism. The organization can require that they have one year of experience in their field, but give people an opportunity to do so if they have much less. As a result, more people will apply, and this will give the company more choices in hopes to make a sound decision. When someone is hired, though, they can reward them for their hard work by having picnics, raffles and contests. However, management needs to keep in mind a budget in order to make this possible (Bolman & Deal, 2008).

A way in which to get everyone to work together the organization can form teams under each division. Each team has a leader that reports to the manager and communication improves because of it. They can also have teambuilding activities once a quarter to help bring about unity, which will empower others to come and allow for "Total Quality Management (TQM)" to occur (Bolman & Deal, 2008). Instead of the negative attitude and the lack of people wanting to go to work, each person feels empowered, and they want to contribute positively. As a result, they choose to encourage others and feel good about helping the customers enjoy their stay at Happy Hotel. Management will then advocate as well as inquire to make sure employees are satisfied, which makes all their efforts worth it (Bolman & Deal, 2008).

In regards to politics, this is prevalent in every business, and one cannot easily avoid it no matter what. When Miss Quick worked for the organization, she wanted to outsource nearly every position within the company. This included chambermaid, hotel reception, reducing departments and middle men, cut costs for annual events and courses for each employee. From what one can gather about this information, she had much power. In fact, what she did caused much conflict because the company was not running as productive as it could have due to a lack of workers.

According to Bolman and Deal (2008), "scarce resources and enduring differences make conflict central to organizational dynamics and underline power as the most important asset." This is exactly what is going on with Happy Hotel. Since they have a lack of resources available due to all the budget cuts, people are in conflict with each other, and it gives Miss Quick too much power. She refused to do everything possible to have "goals and emerge from bargaining, negotiation, and jockeying for position among the competing stakeholders" (Bolman & Deal, 2008). Since she did this, the culture changed as well, this made it a hostile environment for everyone who worked for the organization. As circumstances change noted Coulson-Thomas (2009) "capabilities, processes and working practices need to be reviewed."

People do not last long in a culture in which their needs are not getting met. What Miss Quick did was challenge the status quo, and makes it difficult for people to enjoy their work at Happy Hotel. She used her power from her position, rather than trying to use it for the good (Bolman & Deal, 2008). Thankfully, the Board decided that they needed someone knew, and that her methods were not going to work any longer. This made every employee have a sense of job security, and the ability to know that they can make a difference with tourists that come to check out the winter sports and have an excellent vacation.

Many suggestions are worth noting with this particular scenario. When Miss Quick was in power and now since Mr. New-Way took over, he needs to have an agenda set by means of having goals and a vision for the company (Bolman & Deal, 2008). This will keep everyone focused on what needs done. Miss Quick did not have this in place. All she did was tell others what to do, but did not have the courage to become a servant-leader during this process.

Since politics are unavoidable, Mr. New-Way can "map out the political terrain" (Bolman & Deal, 2008). This means he would need to figure out how to make communication better, political influence, analyze possibilities and have strategies in place (Bolman & Deal, 2008). Through this coalitions will get built as a result of his leadership skills, so networking is crucial. He will need to identify all the relationships possible within Happy Hotel, and who it is that could become resistant to change (Bolman & Deal, 2008).

Morality will become an important role as he improves the business. He will need to use "mutuality, generality, openness and caring" (Bolman & Deal, 2008). Everyone will understand what is expected of them and conflict will become minimal over time. Principles are used as a means of paying attention to various actions that take place. Mr. New-Way will need to decide if some things need done in public or private, but to keep an open mind through it all. Through his actions, his employees will know whether or not he is genuine in what he says and does (Bolman & Deal, 2008).

Miss Quick did the opposite of what Mr. New-Way will do. She did not care for her employees and wanted to make them suffer while on the job. This makes anyone not want to come to work and to do a poor job at it. When Mr. New-Way arrived, he knew that something needed done in order to make the environment better, and to make the politics not as prominent as they were previously. In the end, his efforts will become worthwhile to all the employees.

Some symbolic things did take place when Miss Quick was in power within the company. They had an annual Christmas party and summer picnic, which later became lunches for the employees. As one can tell, not enough activities took place during the year. In fact, they occurred maybe every six months. Bolman and Deal (2008), mention that "culture is both a product and a process." This means taking time to enjoy each other's company and to have events that make all their hard work worthwhile. Everything has some level of meaning to an individual. Each person has some faith that there is hope at their work. Beliefs are what motivates someone to come to their job on a regular basis (Bolman & Deal, 2008). All of these are involved to help make life interesting and not boring.

Currently, if any stories do take place, then one would hear of gossip about Miss Quick because of how she treated all the employees. She also cut back the rituals within the organization itself, which made people not want to work in a productive manner. In fact, they wanted someone new who would treat them with dignity and respect. Through rituals, one is able to have meaning in what they are doing daily, and this makes work worthwhile. Miss Quick was thinking of herself and was strictly business. Through her actions, she acted as if she was a dictator. Since the business had changed through the years, she had no idea on what needed done to have high employee satisfaction. This made the environment unbearable for every employee. Any plan that takes place, whether it is good or bad, is symbolic and is a part of the culture, and a lack of evaluations are taking place because people are unsure of how to do their job and to do it in an effective manner (Bolman & Deal, 2008). They are judged by every person who steps into this location in the world, and Happy Hotel is not doing the best job because of their traditional ways, which are holding them back in becoming a success to those they serve.